Traditionally in the West, the pursuit of a secular society has kept a spiritual dimension fiom the study and application of most peacebuilding processes. By excluding a spiritual dimension, however, a tremendous resource for building peace is often lost. This thesis argues that spirituality can assist in encouraging connection and understanding between participants within a peacebuilding process. It also argues that religious/spiritual organizations and their leadership can play an important role in creating the conditions to support peace, through their organizational structure and position in society. Moreover, they can often find ways to prevent and transform conflict through the application of lessons, systems, insights and values from their own traditions, which may be more appropriate to their situation than importing outside solutions. The case study methodology used in this thesis incorporates the experiences that the author had while interning with various NGO's in Burma. The case study itself offers a specific example of why a spiritual framework for peacebuilding is needed. Through this example, an illustration of why this in that current conflict, is achieved. o t h e d e x t s are also discwed. type of framework is suitable, and how it might assist General lessons and insights that are applicable to n

Arising from drastically different world views, misconceptions between foreign NGOs working in Mali and local Malians often lead to actions that perpetuate unjust power dynamics and/or do more harm than good. In order to better align NGO sustainable development efforts in ways that are beneficial to the populations they serve, it is crucial to listen to perspectives that are typically marginalized in our current global system. This thesis explores synergizing NGO-Malian artist partnerships in innovative, mutually understandable, and mutually beneficial ways to increase NGO project effectiveness and efficiency. This case study features twelve interviews with Malian dancers and musicians residing in Bamako, Mali. The intersections between this data and current academic sources indicate suggested 1) processes to cultivate understanding and mindfully work to shift unjust power dynamics; and 2) projects (themes, partnerships with existing opportunities, and innovations) that demonstrate promising, new potential to improve development efforts. / 2014-12-16

archives@tulane.edu / My dissertation applies diffusion of innovations and post-development theories to an actor-oriented analysis of design thinking uptake at the frontlines of international development. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working directly with the poor face challenges in delivering interventions. Their operating conditions stimulate demand for new approaches like “design thinking,” which is promoted as a human-centered innovation tool to address problems like energy poverty or infant mortality. Through a multi-year case study of a rural Kenyan NGO undergoing training, I explore the interactions and responses of organizational actors as they adopt, reject and remake design thinking. Qualitative methods include in-depth interviews and group discussions with 66 informants, plus document review and participant observation. My findings reveal how uptake is dynamic and socially-embedded. Participants encountered design thinking through workshops, applications and conversations. Training messages, work-life conditions, and institutional locations and relationships informed how intended adopters trialed design thinking. The social interactions and perceived outcomes of encounters fed back into assessment and learning so that over time, partial changes to individuals and the organization emerged along with novel interpretations of design thinking. Staff adopters developed new problem-solving mindsets and adapted design thinking to everyday challenges. They saw it as a tool for enhancing agency and participation rather than a technical innovation process to design solutions for beneficiaries. Others did not perceive design thinking’s compatibility or relative advantage and rejected it. The organization exhibited new language and groupwork practices but not structural and cultural shifts to support design. The contradictory institutional workings of the “developmental configuration,” the assembly of actors, institutions and resources that produce development action, shaped these diverse uptake logics. The configuration simultaneously practices top-down management while demanding bottom-up empowerment. These pressures spurred felt-need for design thinking, constrained adoption, encouraged reinvention and led to internal power struggles. My research has theoretical and practical implications. I add to theories on the diffusion of knowledge innovations in organizational settings and contribute to socio-anthropological understanding of how development actors make sense of design thinking. I challenge assumptions about design thinking for aid effectiveness by offering insights into its actual value and fitness in frontline NGO settings. / 1 / Maille Faughnan

Thesis (M. P. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (M. P. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

This thesis reviews theoretical and local understandings of sustainability and examines the contributions which the NGO, the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE), makes to achieving sustainability in the district of Toledo in Belize, Central America. The study focuses mainly on the Port Honduras Marine Reserve, which TIDE manages in cooperation with the Toledo Fisheries Department. Three sets of theories provide the context: theories of sustainability and sustainable development in general, theories on marine protected areas and fisheries management, and theories on NGOs. Findings show that TIDE has a vague understanding of sustainability and that there is a contradiction between the mission statement which promises a balance between environmental protection and stakeholders' economic needs, and TIDE' s actual strategies for encouraging protection for the Port Honduras Marine Reserve. In addition, TIDE's dysfunctional internal management style, such as lack of communication between the management and staff, spontaneous planning, and frequent staff turn-over prevent the organization from functioning effectively and realizing its goals. TIDE’s approach to sustainability is ineffective because it fails to integrate emic perspectives. TIDE does not take into account that local residents have an their own perspectives on sustainability, which include the fishermen's sense of stewardship for the marine environment. TIDE also does not successfully ensuring a steady income for the fishermen effectively. In light of the theories on sustainability, findings show that most theories are developed in a top-down manner that fail to integrate local understandings of sustainability. The only possible exception are holistic theories that emphasize bottom-up participation. The main recommendation for TIDE and similar NGOs is to develop a holistic approach to sustainability that includes emic perspectives. Consideration of the environment, the consideration of stakeholders' economic needs, the socio-cultural context, and an administrative political framework and a functional internal management style all need to be integrated into a successful approach to sustainability. / Graduation date: 2001 / Best scan available for figures 2-3.

Thesis (M.Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-74). Also available in electronic version.

Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-124). Also available online in Scholars' Bank.

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): E. Cory Yoder, James Suchan. Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-112). Also available online.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 168 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 160-168).